New figures from the UK's largest employment law firm for employees reveal the workplace problems pushing people to get legal help, and a toxic workplace now tops the list.

When people reach out for help with a problem at work, they tend to tell us what is really going on, not the tidy version that ends up on a form.

New data from Monaco Solicitors, the UK's largest employment law firm for individuals, and its sister service Grapple Law (both founded by solicitor Alex Monaco), shows the problems driving people to seek legal help, and how they are changing.

A toxic workplace tops the list

The single most common theme is a toxic workplace, a culture that steadily grinds people down. It featured in 28.3% of cases in 2024, jumped to 36.9% in 2025, and stands at 35.5% in the first half of 2026. That is more than one in three.

Bullying is close behind: 26.9% in 2024, 33.9% in 2025 and 30.1% so far in 2026, around three in ten. The two often go together, and between them they paint a picture of workplaces where people feel targeted, belittled or simply worn down.

A note on the figures: Figures are drawn from Monaco Solicitors' caseload. 2024 and 2025 cover full years, while 2026 covers the first half only (January to June). Because these are shares of cases rather than totals, they are directly comparable across all three years but no full-year projection has been applied for 2026.

The toolkit for pushing people out

Alongside culture, a familiar set of tools for easing someone towards the door shows up strongly:

• A disciplinary process features in around one in five cases (16.2%, then 21.2%, then 20.9%).
• Being managed on performance has risen every year (9.9%, 13.2%, 13.7%).
• Sickness has climbed steadily too (12.6%, 16.8%, 17.4%), as people are penalised for time off they could not help.

A sudden disciplinary, a new performance concern, or pressure over sick leave are classic ways to move someone on, and both performance and sickness disputes have grown every year.

Redundancy is rising

Redundancy has gone up every year, from 13.8% of cases in 2024 to 17.4% in the first half of 2026, now around one in six. As employers cut costs, more people are finding their role suddenly declared no longer needed.

Reading between the lines

1. Culture is the headline, cost is the rising undercurrent. Toxic workplace and bullying eased very slightly as a share in 2026, while redundancy, sickness and performance kept climbing. It is a sign the pressure may be shifting from how people are treated to how much they cost.

2. Problems rarely come alone. A toxic culture often arrives hand in hand with a sudden disciplinary or a dispute over sick leave, which is why the same case can touch several of these themes at once.

3. Most of it stays hidden. For every person who seeks help, many more put up with it in silence.

Why this matters

Behind every one of these numbers is someone who dreads Monday morning: a person being ground down, pushed out, or made to feel that a problem that is not their fault somehow is.

The encouraging part is that more people are naming the problem and refusing to accept it quietly. That is where help comes in.

About Grapple Law

Grapple Law is an AI-powered legal service on a simple mission: justice for everyone. It exists because cost and complexity have long kept ordinary people from enforcing rights they already have.

Grapple Law lets anyone find out, for free, whether they may have a case, and then helps them draft the letters, raise the issues and negotiate, all in plain English and without the intimidating price tag of traditional law. Where a case has real value, its no win, no fee negotiation service steps in to fight for a settlement.

Built by the team behind Monaco Solicitors, the UK's largest employment law firm for individuals, Grapple Law is designed for anyone facing unfair treatment at work, from a toxic culture or bullying to disciplinary action, redundancy and more.

Find out for free whether you may have a case at grapple.law.

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